The Real Face of War.

[Isard]

The only people in the wrong here are the armchair generals in the Pentagon who decided keeping this a secret for 3 years would be prudent. The pilot saw what he took to be a clear threat to his life, and the lives of his Apache crew. This wasn't a nasty look, he thought he'd seen assault rifles and an RPG.

If they had been a threat, this would have simply been another ho hum engagement. But it gets attention because its a mistake. It happens. They were in an active combat zone, anybody who ventures there does so at their own risk.

As for the children, **** happens. He did everything he could, and should, to help them get to safety and medical care and should be proud that he did so.

I don't get why the UN seems to beleive that war, while still "terrible" according to them, is some bloodless honorable fight where only soldiers die. That warfare died off centuries ago. We're fighting people who don't wear uniforms, who don't identify themselves, and don't care if civilians get in their way, perhaps even celebrate when they can camouflage themselves amongst the innocent.

Mentally speaking, nobody should take killing easy, however, most soldiers are able to disconnect well enough to get their job done so that others don't have to. That's their real sacrifice, killing so that the rest of us wont be forced to. Sometimes, you get somebody who cannot disconnect well enough, so bravado and the "tough assed" routine are all they have.

War is dirty, dirty business, it always will be, and anybody who thinks it can be done cleanly is an idiot.